Historically, "spices" referred to the tropical aromatics only, while "herbs" meant specifically the leaves and seeds of certain temperate-zone plants. While those distinctions are still used, "spice" has come also to mean the whole family of dried plant seasonings, including spices, herbs, blends and dehydrated vegetables.

Typical examples of spices are cloves (buds), cinnamon (bark), turmeric (root), peppercorns (berries), vanilla (the bean from a tropical orchid vine) and cumin, coriander, dill and fennel (seeds) to mention just a few.

Today's concerns over salt, sodium, cholesterol, saturated fat and sugar in food put added emphasis on spices. With the exception of cholesterol, each of these factors involve flavor in one way or another. Reducing any of them reduces flavor impact. Eliminate the fat, salt and sweetening and you may well reduce the palatability and satisfaction in eating the food.

Spices, on the other hand, can more than make up for the loss of flavor. In normal usage, spices make no significant contribution of fat, sodium or calories (and being plant products, no cholesterol at all), yet they have a tremendous flavor impact.

The lure of profits from the spice trade drove the Age of Discovery, as Portugal, Spain, England and Holland sailed to the East, competing for control of spice-producing lands.

During the Middle Ages, many towns assessed taxes and rents and kept their accounts in pepper, counting it out peppercorn by peppercorn.

Piperine, the most important component of the bite in black pepper, is responsible for making some people sneeze.

Chili peppers and black pepper are not related. Black pepper comes from berries that grow on the L. Piper nigrum vine. Chili peppers are capsicums, members of the Solanaceae family.

Grinding breaks down the cell structure of spices, making them deliver flavor more quickly and blend into a dish. The finer the grind, the more rapid the release.

Until the early 19th century, spices were purchased whole and ground at home. Now, the majority of spices are ground before they are sold.

As ransom, when he lay siege to Rome, Alaric the Visigoth demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper and later, an additional tribute of 300 pounds annually.

In the 19th Century Great Britain's maritime prowess gradually established her as the leader of the spice trade, and London's Mincing Lane became the spice-trading center of the world.

Garlic is native to central Asia, but its use spread across the world more than 5000 years ago, before recorded history. It was worshipped by the Egyptians and fed to workers building the Gread Pyramid at Giza, about 2600 BC. Greek athletes ate it to build their strength. Garlic came to the Western Hemisphere with some of the first European explorers, and its use spread rapidly.